Hotels operated by HMH – Hospitality Management Holding in the UAE exceeded expectations with an outstanding year-to-date performance. While Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel recorded an impressive 23 per cent growth in revenue, Coral Beach Resort Sharjah and Coral Dubai Deira averaged between 5 to 10 per cent increase in revenue year on year.
Tourism officials in Jordan have been reviewing developments in the country's tourism sector as revenues from 2016 are on par with takings from 2015 despite a reported rise in the number of visitors to the Western Asian kingdom. Jordan is home to an incredible 100,000+ sites of religious and archaeological sites and spectacular landmarks that draw tourists from all around the world, namely the historical cities of Petra and Jerash, and biblical sites including Al-Maghtas and Mount Nebo. These sites are significant to both Islamic and Christian faiths, but Jordan also sees visitors coming for the purposes of medical tourism, where people come to receive medical attention that cannot be found in other places in the region.
The Middle Eastern country of Oman is the subject of some reimagining of its potential from within the region. A panel discussion by the Majlis al-Shura, the region's political and advisory body, stated that more was to be done to tap into the underexploited resource of Oman's tourism industry. According to a report by the Committee on Addressing the Economic Crisis and its Impact on the Society, Oman should be monitoring tourism patterns and activities and investigating ways in which the culture, heritage and geography of Oman could be used to increase the tourism sector in the area so that it would benefit the economy.
STR's preliminary April 2017 data for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, indicates occupancy growth and lower room rates. Based on daily data from April, Abu Dhabi reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
Catalysts of Change including the shift in global economic powers, demographics and ageing populations, and the impact of digitisation were some of the hot topics discussed live on stage during the opening sessions of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference 2017 (AHIC), being held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai from 25-27 April, 2017 and organised by Bench Events and MEED.
Driven by an active pipeline of new openings combined with an enhanced focus on bringing mid-market offerings to the region, Louvre Hotels Group, one of the largest hospitality groups in the world, continues to shape its wider growth strategy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Louvre Hotels is looking ahead to the opening of 10 new hotels in MENA by the end of 2017, which will add 1,600 keys to its current room inventory, exceeding the 11,000 milestone. In 2016 alone, Louvre launched 12 properties in key markets including UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Tunisia and Lebanon and expects to open no less than 10 hotels per year leading up to 2020 and beyond.
The hotel industry in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, recorded strong occupancy levels during the first quarter of 2017 despite continued and significant supply growth, according to data from STR.Based on preliminary data, Dubai recorded an occupancy level of 86.3%, which was a 2.7% uplift compared with Q1 2016. Average daily rate (ADR) was down 6.4% over the same time period to an actual level of AED795.00. As a result, revenue per available room (RevPAR) decreased 3.9% to AED686.00. Because Dubai has seen two years with consistent RevPAR declines, STR analysts see the Q1 occupancy growth as an indicator of performance recovery. "A factor that likely played a big role in Dubai's occupancy growth was the UAE government's recent decisions to grant visas on arrival for Chinese and Russian nationals," said Philip Wooller, STR's area director for the Middle East and Africa. "While Dubai continues to add new supply, it also continues to add new leisure attractions, and expanding the market's range of potential visitors can only help drive hotel demand and profitability."Occupancy increases were mainly pushed by the middle and lower tier hotel classes. Dubai's Midscale and Economy classes experienced a combined 7.2% year-over-year increase in occupancy, while Luxury hotels posted more moderate growth of 0.7%. Upper Upscale hotels reported a 1.1% decline. STR analysts note that the Midscale and Economy classes experienced less substantial supply growth compared with other classes during Q1, although the Upper Midscale class, which recorded the highest rate of supply growth (+13.9%), also posted a substantial increase in occupancy (+6.7%).
Ahead of next week's Arabian Hotel Investment Conference 2017 (AHIC), being held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai from April 25 to 27, its speakers have unveiled insights into the global trends and market sentiment that are currently making an impact on the hospitality industry across the Middle East.
As of February 2017, all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have signed the Unified Value Added Tax (VAT) Agreement. The framework will form the basis for national legislation, which will be introduced in each GCC country. Although there has been very limited official information released regarding the specifics of how the VAT system to be introduced will operate, the expectation is that the GCC Countries will replicate a lot of the features of the European Union VAT System. In the latest Special Market Report from Horwath HTL, Kim Drubbel, Managing Director of Horwath HTL UAE and Oman, explores whether the introduction of VAT might be a limitation for the industry and not in the interest of the sector's sustained growth prospects.
Thanks in large part to the ultra modern and chic desert city of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates has become one of the most important players in the global hospitality industry. There really is everything in the world of Dubai hotels, in terms of luxury and vacation options. It's become a beacon of luxury and recreation, one that is only getting richer and more vaunted with time.
The United Arab Emirates has succeeded in boosting the length of time that travellers stay in the country using longer layovers and connections between Europe and America with Asian destinations. The fastest growing group is now those staying between six to eight nights, according to ForwardKeys which predicts future travel patterns by analysing 16 million booking transactions a day.
STR's preliminary March 2017 data for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, indicates performance consistent with significant growth in both supply and demand. Based on daily data from March, Dubai reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
Rotana, one of the leading hotel management companies in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe, today signed an agreement with RSG International, a UAE-based global conglomerate, with interests in the property development, automotive and industrial equipment sectors across the Middle East, North America and South Asia, for a new five star hotel and serviced apartment project in Dubai, located in Sufouh Gardens on Sheikh Zayed Road.
STR's preliminary January 2017 data for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, indicates sharp rate declines.Based on daily data from January, Abu Dhabi reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
STR's preliminary December 2016 data for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, indicates strong demand growth and lower rates consistent with significant supply growth. Based on daily data from December, Dubai reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
STR's preliminary November 2016 data for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, indicates significantly lower average daily rate in year-over-year comparisons.Based on daily data from November, Abu Dhabi reported the following:
Cost Cuts Can't Stop Rooms Profit Drop at Manama Hotels Profit per room in the Rooms Department at Manama hotels dropped by 10.3% this month, which was in spite of savings in both departmental Cost of Sales and Payroll, according to the latest data from HotStats.
STR's preliminary October 2016 data for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, indicates performance declines consistent with significant supply growth.Based on daily data from October, Dubai reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
The opening of the Hotel Westin Dubai Al Habtoor City last August with 1,004 rooms including 142 suites, pushes Dubai's hotel supply over the symbolic 100,000 room mark, making the Emirate one of the most mature hotel markets on the planet. On this occasion, Dubai Tourism and its CEO Helal Saeed Almarri organized an official event bringing together the regions primary players. Dubai Tourism expects to see steady growth in nights until the culmination point that should be the World Exposition 2020, the first organized in the Middle East, based on the theme 'Connecting Minds, Creating the Future'.
STR's preliminary September 2016 data for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, indicates overall performance declines. Based on daily data from September, Abu Dhabi reported the following in year-over-year comparisons: